Miss Matched [COMPLETED]

14. Simon

She tastes like peach lip balm. When she sighed, the sound I remembered so well, my dick rose in response. I've missed her. I've missed this fire blazing between us. I press closer to the heat, deepening the kiss. She said yes, and I'm not letting this opportunity go. We fit together. I was such a fool to let other people's doubts become mine.

When she pulls back, I try to follow, desperate to remind her we're good for each other. Her fingers tugging on my hair are almost painful. Hurt me if you need to, Tayla. I'll take it.

"Stop!" she gasps out the word, as though it's been torn from her.

I wrench my mouth from hers and take a step back. My chest is heaving, and I'm relieved hers is too. When our gazes connect, her eyes are heavy with desire. I brace my hands on the counter on either side of her, but it takes a moment before I can speak. "Are you okay?"

"No. I want to go home. I want to leave." She brushes my arm aside and hops off the counter, grabbing her workout bag and keys from behind the couch.

"Tay," I call, almost jogging after her in the apartment. "Tay. Wait." When she won't look at me, I grab her elbow and spin her around. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" She scoffs as though the question is ludicrous. "God, Simon, how can you be so clueless?" Her finger stabs my chest. "You said if we did this, if I agreed to do this, you weren't going to pretend the past didn't happen. But we are. We are." She drops her hand. "And I—I can't do that. I won't do that. You broke my fucking heart." Tears pool in her eyes. "I don't know why you left me. I've never understood why you did it."

I rub my face and cup a hand over my mouth. Christ. I can't tell her now. How can I tell her? She'll cut this whole thing short. "I'll tell you. We can—we can talk about it."

A tear slips down her cheek. "When? When are you going to explain to me why you didn't love me enough?"

Holy fuck. My chest tightens, squeezing so hard I wonder if my heart is in an actual vise. "That's what you think?"

"You broke up with me and within a week you were dating Jada. Two years together and seven days later, you've got a new girlfriend. What did you expect me to think?"

I untagged myself in Jada's flurry of social media posts. Apparently, I didn't do that fast enough. "I didn't—I didn't expect you to think anything. We were—we weren't really dating."

Tayla cocks her head, a mixture of hurt and anger coating her face. "Are you trying to spare my feelings? It's too late for that." Her voice is thick with unshed tears. "I just want the truth."

The truth? She makes it sound so simple. I lost faith. I shouldn't have, but I did. The reasons for my change of heart are what she wants, and I'm not ready to give her those. "Why did you go to GameSetMatch?"

She rolls her eyes. "Seems obvious, doesn't it? I was doing a shitty job of picking a partner." She purses her lips. "You're not going to tell me the truth?"

"I will. I told you I will, and I will. Not tonight. I can't tonight."

"Your truth has a timeline? Nice, Simon. Doesn't sound shady at all." She grabs the door handle. "Take me home."

Once we're in the car, an uneasy silence envelops us. We're not far from her place when I take a deep breath. Jada is a complication I didn't see coming. Last time Tayla brought her up, I was surprised, but when she didn't push, I didn't elaborate. "Have you ever been pressured into doing something you didn't want to do?" We're turning down Tayla's street. She's quiet as I inch past each house, willing her to answer, wishing I said something sooner.